A Fe(a)st of Sorts
Tomorrow, music editor Robert Baird is off to Austin, Texas, for the <a href="http://2006.sxsw.com/">South By Southwest</a> Music, Film, and Interactive Fest. He attends year after year.
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Terry Teachout on the Beatles
And popular songs and why only "Yesterday" became a "standard in the old fashioned sense."
Edna O'Brien on Beckett
What a great writer she is—this is like prose crack.
The Price of Entry
B. S. Prakash muses on what it takes to get into the American labor force. The last line's a kicker.
OK, I'm Glad We Cleared That Up
Cecil Adams says he knows what OK stands for. Now if only somebody would clear up that "whole nine yards" mess.
St. Elmo's Fire
Cooking up plasma in the kitchen. But remember kids, don't try this at home.
How precisely have you set up your speakers in your main system?
In one of Stephen Mejias' <A HREF="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/030906location/">blog posts</A>, he notes the precise alignment of his speakers. How precisely have you set up your speakers in your main system?
Industry Update
<I>Audica MPS-1:</I> <A HREF="http://www.audica.co.uk/">Audica</A>, the Cambridge, UK–based manufacturer founded by Kieron Dunk (formerly of Mission, Denon, Cyrus, Infinity, and Klipsch, to name but a few) is finally shipping its stylish MPS-1 desktop audio system ($400). The MPS-1 consists of two diminutive extruded aluminum loudspeakers and a 25Wpc amplifier/control center with three 3.5mm inputs (one high sensitivity for portables and other low-output sources; the others with lower sensitivity and higher input impedence). The MPS-1 control center also has USB and FireWire connections to facilitate recharging portable players' batteries.
On the Fair Use Frontlines
<I>As anyone who reads this website is all too aware, these days legislative matters increasingly encroach upon audiophiles' ability to experience uncompromised high fidelity. Like it or not, political decisions </I>can<I> and </I>do<I> have an impact on what we listen to and how we are able to manipulate our music after we have purchased it.
Outlaw Audio RR2150 stereo receiver
Wilson Audio Specialties' David Wilson likes to say that you should build a stereo system from the speakers down. Of course he does—he sells speakers. But that doesn't mean he's wrong. So recently, when offered an inexpensive new product for review, I decided it would be a good test of Wilson's theory. I tried driving Wilson's $45,000/pair <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/805wilson">MAXX2</A> speakers with Outlaw Audio's RR2150, a $599 stereo receiver.